Transcendent Simulator considers "transcendental moments" in the Truck Simulator video game series. By engaging with players on the r/trucksim Reddit Community, this video utilizes accounts of transcendental moments found on the forum, and screen recorded footage from American Truck Simulator, to consider how these games produce altered states. This work builds on the artist's research into video games as sites for spirituality and expanding consciousness. Especially in the present moment, where we rely on virtual worlds more than ever, this video examines how one may turn to virtual spaces for experiences with forces beyond themselves. Considering a post-pandemic world where ideas of public space are changing drastically, this video calls to question how we engage with spirituality in a hypervirtual world.
Christopher Michael is an artist and writer based in Philadelphia, PA. He is interested in folklore, mysticism, spirituality, and their relationship to new media and technology. He works mainly in video art and essay writing and holds a BA in English and Film from University College Dublin. He is currently a remote Masters student at HMKW Berlin, studying Visual and Media Anthropology with a focus on spirituality and the virtual world.